Quest for Victory
by Queen of the Nymphs
Summary: Repost of His Triumphant Return... based on the King Arthur legend...modern day settings
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: King Arthur, it is foretold, will return to his country in their time of need. After hundreds of years, it is his time, and he is back, but in need of help..._

_Disclaimer- I don't own King Arthur (Though no one really does, he's a legend…though he may belong to the Celts or whoever…) so don't sue…otherwise my parents will have to pay you…_

_Have to repost the whole story, cos it screwed up… the chapters were all out of order_

**His Triumphant Return**

Chapter 1

In the Beginning

She looked up at Hampton Court, and let out a breath of air in admiration.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. "Think of the hundreds of years of dust gathered here. Oh to have been a portrait… or a fly on the wall." She giggled softly at herself, and then looked around for her group. "Damn, lost 'em again."

Sophie ran into the beautiful building, glancing up once more, and almost collided with Eleanor.

"Watch it." The older girl sneered. Eleanor was the sportiest girl in the school. She was also severely blonde and fake tanned, and was therefore the head of the "popular" girls, i.e. the girls who thought everyone wanted to be like them, but pretty much hated by most.

Sophie rolled her eyes, and pushed her way through the crowd to get to her best friend, Giuliana, A.K.A. Gules.

"Where were you?" Gules whispered angrily, "you almost missed the tour!"

"I'm sorry! I was in awe of the beauty of the building, and couldn't tear myself away."

Gules snorted, "Are you kidding? It's just an old hunk of bricks,"

"AN OLD HUNK OF BRICKS!" Sophie was majorly pissed, "This is more than just an old hunk of bricks! This is an historical landmark, a part of our history! If you think that this is just an old hunk of bricks…"

"Miss Franklin, if you would mind keeping your voice down, we will be beginning our tour."

Mr Johnston, their head of history, began to talk about the history of the kitchens, a subject that had Sophie rapt. Gules, however, wandered off to look at the pretty pictures.

Only when Mr Johnston began to herd them into the next part of the tour, did Sophie look for Giuliana. She was over talking to Eleanor and her friends. As Sophie came closer, she heard parts of their conversation…

"And so Sophie got really pissed, just because I didn't like this little building. I mean really, it's not as if I called her a slut or anything." Eleanor and friends laughed at Giuliana's remark

"We heard. Geez, 'this is an historical landmark, a part of our history'" Eleanor had put on a high whiney voice to imitate Sophie, which caused her friends and Giuliana to laugh even harder.

"I mean, she's so obsessed with this crap, she's not even coming to schoolies, she's going to some German medieval town instead. For Gods sakes, she'll be 18, now who'll buy my booze?" at this, Eleanor and co. laughed even harder.

Sophie turned and ran off, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. When she finally gathered her surroundings, she realised that she was in the centre of the maze.

"bugger, what now?" She ran off, back the way she had come, but she was still trapped.

"I hope the group doesn't leave me. Maybe Giuliana will notice." Now she began to yell. "Help! I'm lost, can someone help me?" Sophie whirled around as she heard the drone of an aeroplane coming closer. She kept running, not knowing why, but got faster and faster as the sound grew louder and louder, and the plane closer and closer. She ducked down into the hedges as machine guns began shooting, and people began screaming.

Sophie screamed herself. Calling to her parents, her sisters, Gules, anyone who would help her.

After 10 minutes the noises dimmed, and the smell of smoke began to increase. Sophie looked up and saw that part of the maze was on fire.

"Oh God! Now what do I do?"


	2. Chapter 2

Sophie ran through the burning hedges, ducking past flames. She could hear fire engines approaching. She burst through the entrance, and ran back inside. Only to find her group huddled around Eleanor's current "bestie", Megan.

"What happened?" She asked.

"When the planes began shooting, one hit Megan."

Sophie looked up and saw that the roof had massive holes in it, as did the walls. The smell of smoke was dominating the air.

A paramedic's crew burst through the door to attend to Megan.

An hour later, Megan had been wheeled off into an ambulance, and was racing towards Hospital. Mr Johnston herded them out, and they began to walk back to the hotel. Sophie trailed behind the group, watching as Megan's place with Eleanor was taken by Giuliana.

'_What a surprise.'_ She said to herself. '_No sooner did her 'best friend forever' almost die, and then she steals mine.'_ And for the second time that day, Sophie hid her tears, as they boarded the bus back.

As they drove along Hampton Court road, past Bushy Park, and over Kingston Bridge, Sophie could have sworn she saw a strange light over the city, but merely thought it was a fire from the attack that morning. She sighed, and then turned her attention to Mr Johnston, who was on the phone to the hospital Megan was in.

_(This part is a conversation between the Celtic gods I got as many as I could…)_

Dispater looked around at the room full of Gods and Goddesses.

"My brethren, it appears that the time has come, at long last. Many a human year has passed since Arzhur ruled the humans. Now that they face a time full of dark days, where true evil shall emerge, his people need him. Cerridwen, it is your task to awaken him, and set him on the right path. My brethren, it is up to us to guard the fates of the British people. Only with our help, and Arzhur's, will they survive. Are you up to this challenge? And can you save the humans?"

A great roar erupted, as the Gods and Goddesses cheered for the future of the human race. Cerridwen, the Goddess of goddess of death, initiation, inspiration, magic, regeneration, and referred to as the Mother Goddess, left the hall of the Gods, and continued to Arzhur's resting place.

Cerridwen looked at the face of the Great Wizard, protruding from the wall of Alderley Edge. She began to glow slightly, then reached up, and breathed onto it.

"Wake up, my old friend. The time has come."

Merlin opened his eyes, and walked out of the wall.

"Has Dispater commanded so?"

Cerridwen nodded.

"Then I shall awaken him."

Merlin strode to the circle of stones, a short way from where from he had slept for so many centuries. He took a vial from his pocket, poured it around the circle, and began to speak, in a voice that spoke with the ages of time, and was not here, nor there, and was neither male, nor female. When he spoke, many others spoke…

"_Céad Míle Fáilte!_

_Ord Oraiochta Na Uisnech!_

_Tuatha de Danaan Lughnasadh,_

_Mean Samhraidh Mean Foghamar, _

_Mean Geimridh, Mean Earraigh!_

_Lugh! Oimelc!"_

With his last words, there was a great clap of thunder, the ring of stones began to turn, and the Edge, where Merlin had slept, began to shake. With a final clap of thunder, the rocks moved apart, and a man stepped out.

Arzhur was lean, and tall. His hair was thick, and dark, almost, but not quite, touched his jaw line. His eyes were dark as well, with thick dark lashes. He wore a knights clothing, a long sleeved, chain mail shirt, covered by a long dark blue tunic, with four red crowns on it.

"Merlin, Mother Goddess." He said, kneeling on the ground.

"Arzhur" the Mother said. "The time has come for you to return, and save your kingdom from grave danger. Go forth, but do not tell anyone of whom you really are, unless you know they are _detholedig_."

"How will I know?" Arzhur replied.

"You will know." The Mother replied, with a small smile, "You will know in your heart."

With that, she transformed Arzhurs medieval dress, into black jeans and a dark blue shirt, much like a polo shirt (hehehe, yay, analogies…), except for the small red crown instead of the polo symbol, over a long sleeved grey shirt.

"I will succeed great Mother Goddess."

With that, Cerridwen vanished, and Arzhur stood with Merlin.

"Old friend, will you be here to guide me? Or must I continue on my own?"

"I will be here for you, always my friend, always."

Arzhur smiled, and began the walk to the sight of the earlier attacks.

Sophie heard caps of thunder, and looked around. The skies were clear. _'Funny that'_ she thought.

She stood up, as she heard the strangest words, in the strangest voice…

_Céad Míle Fáilte!_

_Ord Oraiochta Na Uisnech!_

_Tuatha de Danaan Lughnasadh,_

_Mean Samhraidh Mean Foghamar, _

_Mean Geimridh, Mean Earraigh!_

_Lugh! Oimelc!_

She looked at the other girls on the bus, wondering if they had heard it. Obviously they hadn't, because they were acting normally… or as normal as one could when a girl they knew had almost died. '_What is going on today? It's as if the world was going crazy!'_

Sophie shook her head, closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

She was awoken, however, when the bus suddenly jolted to a halt.

Sophie, among others, stood up, trying to see what had happened. On the road, standing stock-still was a young man, with dark brown eyes, in black jeans, and a dark blue polo shirt over a long sleeved grey shirt.

"Stupid idiot! Kids these days. MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" the driver shouted, honking the horn.

The boy looked up at them, completely surprised. He walked to the door of the bus, and got on. He looked around, and sat in the only empty seat, next to Sophie.

"Who _are_ you?" she asked?

"He looked at her, and replied…

_CLIFFY!_


	3. Chapter 3

………………………………………………………………………………………...

"Yes, I think we would _all _like to know the answer to that, kind sir. Who do you think you are, boarding a _private_ tour bus, thinking you're the King of England?" The bus driver had turned around, and was shouting angrily at Arzhur.

Arzhur almost answered that he actually _was_ the King, but thought it unwise, as he didn't think there were any _detholedig_'s on the bus. Except maybe…

"I am sorry sir." Arzhur replied, not used to addressing people as superior to him, except for the Celtic Gods. "I did not realise that this bus was private, as you said. May I join your… too-er?" he replied, finding these new words quite strange. "I can pay you, will gold coins do?"

Arzhur pulled a small, velvet, navy, drawstring pouch from his pocket, reached in, and drew out ten coins, about the size of eyes, all made of solid gold. They were stamped with a crown on one side, and a man's head on the other, which looked curiously like Arzhur, but older.

"Where did you get those?" Asked Mr Johnston excitedly, "They look _very_ rare, are they rare?" He took one, to inspect closer. "I've never seen coins like these, and I pride myself on the knowledge of coins, past and present. Are they a new issue? How many Australian dollars are they worth?"

Arzhur, who had no idea of what was going on, smiled and nodded. He put the coins in Mr Johnston's hand, and sat back down next to Sophie, who just stared at him, much like the rest of the bus. Mr Johnston, who was too busy looking at the strange coins, didn't take much notice, and waved the driver on.

"Yes, oh my this is exquisite. You boy, you shall take Megan's part on the tour. Who was her partner?"

Eleanor raised her hand.

"Ah, Eleanor. You shall stay with her; she will be your tour buddy. Do not lose each other. If you feel you must, you may swap. Though I don't see why…" Mr Johnston had trailed off, looking at the coins again.

"You, new boy, what's your name?" Eleanor shouted, from across the bus.

Arzhur thought for a moment, trying to decide on a name that would suit. After a moment, hi replied politely,

"My parents, they called me Artorius. It's Latin. My friends call me Arthur. What's your name?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes at her friends, who now included Giuliana, and replied

"I am Eleanor, but you can call me El. This is Gules. She's Lacey, she's Sally and that's Gracey. We are the girls you want to be seen with."

Arzhur took note of each, looking at the girls, trying to decide if they were _detholedig_ or not. None of them were.

He looked at Sophie, and said

"And what is your name?"

Sophie looked at him, and was suddenly breathless,

"Sophie" she whispered.

Eleanor laughed.

"That's a beautiful name." Arzhur whispered back. "It's a pleasure meeting you." He was looking very closely at Sophie.

_She is one of them, a true detholedig. Now I need to find a way to tell her my identity, and get her to help me._ Little did Arzhur know, this task would be harder than he thought.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

"…So El said I could stay in her room, and Arthur could stay in here with you, because you were getting along so well. You don't mind do you?" Gules had been in their room since they got back to the hotel, and was, at that moment, packing her things back into her suitcase.

"No, I don't mind at all. Tell Arthur he can come in here if he really wants."

However, Sophie did mind, Sophie minded a lot. Her best friend since grade 8, their third year of friendship. _'My sister was right when she said everything changed at year 10.'_

Gules snapped her bulging suitcase closed, walked to the door and looked back.

"Are you _sure_ you'll be alright?"

"Yes Gules, I'm sure. Go on, I suppose Arthur and I need to get better acquainted if we are going to be tour buddies."  
After Gules had gone, Sophie sat on her bed facing the window, with her legs tucked up under her chin. Had she any tears left, they would have been running down her face. As it was, she just sighed sadly. She turned, as a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in, it's open." Arzhur came in, locked the door behind him, and said

"Sophie, there is something you should know about me."

Sophie turned, surprised, although there were many things she _didn't _ know about him.

"I'm not who you think I am. My real name is Arzhur. My father was Uther Pendragon, my mother was Igraine of Cornwall. I was once King of England, hundreds of years ago. I know that it is written that I died, but it also written that in a time of great need, I would return and save my country. It is now a time of great need, I have returned to save Britain. You must believe me Sophie, I tell the truth."

Sophie was stunned. She sat still for almost a minute before replying, in a very quite voice,

"You're mental. You're off your nut. King Arthur died. He was just a fairy tale…a Celtic legend. I don't believe you. It's just a coincidence, your names and all."

"Then how do you explain the coins I have. Look, these were made when I was ruling, but I was older then, I don't know why my age decreased… My face is on here. Believe me Sophie, please! I need your help! Merlin and I can't do it alone!"

"Great, now Merlin's here. Let me guess, it's just the guy from Big Brother a few years ago. You have no proo…" as she spoke, the windows burst open and an owl flew in, with a snow-white stomach, and tawny brown wings. As it landed on the ground, it morphed into a man.

He was shorter than Sophie, who was just above medium height, and was bald, on top of his head, and on the front. Sophie was surprised by this, because in almost every picture of Merlin, he resembled Dumbledore. In addition, instead of the flowing purple robe and hat, he wore a simple brown habit, much a friar tuck.

"Wow." Sophie said. "Maybe you weren't joking… Are you _really_ Merlin?"

"Yes"

"Wow. Can you do any magic?"

"Didn't you just see me morph? That's no easy task, morphing. It's quite taxing, unless you have the right magic."

"Oh. Do _you_ have the right magic?"

"Yes, but only a small amount. I can only take on the shape of an owl. Is that the last of your questions?"

"One more."

Merlin was getting agitated a bit now, but sighed, and relented

"Yes, what is it?"

"Are you _really _ from the past? If so, were the Knight's of the Round Table cute?"

Arzhur snorted,

"You make it seem as if they were young boys, cute. Really. They were not babies you know, all of them, except" he said this next name quite sadly, as if it caused him great pain, "Lancelot. He came to us at 16, and was our youngest Knight ever. Now if you are quite finished, we have work to do."

Sophie nodded, and they sat on her bed in a triangle.

Tell us all you know about the great need that Britain is in. What is causing so much trouble?"

……………………………………………………………………………………….


	4. Chapter 4

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sophie looked from Merlin to Arzhur and back again.

"Ok, I think I had best start at the beginning. This is as much as I know, from reading the paper, and watching the news."

_Switch to Sophie mode, which means that this is Sophie talking, and the other people will talk when there are ""'s, or I might just put it all in those…ok, just ignore what I wrote there…_

"One hundred years ago, a small group of Islands, known as the Faroe Islands, were a part of Denmark. They weren't very well known, and were the least important part of the Denmark's country.

However, there was a small group of people who were unsatisfied with their place in the empire. Their leader, Daved Garce, was a lawyer, who was in politics, until he was forced out of it due to rumours of his plans to overthrow the Prime-Minister and have control, or as much as possible, over the islands. He began a secret brotherhood, where they planned to make the Faroe Islands their own country.

After 5 years of careful planning, the group succeeded. But, as the reached the end of the revolt, and his group succeeded, Daved caught cholera, a disease mainly around in those times. There was no cure, and though they had the best doctors, Daved died.

Ignoring his plans to name their country Ganduma, Daved's second in command, Josef Tanerni, named it after Daved Garce, and called it Garce.

Tanerni went on to become the King of Garce. His descendants still sit on the throne today. Right now, it is the Queen Jazinta Tanerni, an unmarried 32 year old, who is reportedly very strong willed. She is an only child, and rumour has it she has an illegitimate son, but no one knows if she will admit to it and make him her heir, or what.

Anyway, because of her strong willed personality, she has set to take over the world, starting with the UK I suppose. I think she thinks that if she has control over that Kingdom, she has control over their entire empire, including Australia!"

"Hold on a moment." Arzhur said, "What is Australia?" getting the pronunciation right, he was looking very puzzled.

"Australia is where I live, it was discovered in 1788, and was one of many British colonies. We are still a part of the British Empire, and are ruled by the Queen."

"The Queen? A woman cannot rule England, it's a Man's country!"

Sophie laughed, but was also a bit astonished at his medieval outlook on women.

'_Though I suppose he IS from the Middle Ages…'_

"England has had a few Queens actually. All of them very good. Now if I may continue with my story…

So she has been building up her armies and intelligence agencies so that she can achieve this goal. Hopefully we won't submit, as we have the English armies, the Australian armies, and, hopefully, the American and the other European armies."

"Alright then, but what's an America?"

Sophie had to laugh again, a bit harder this time.

"It's not an America, America is a country, just like Australia. It's a continent, actually. We can go on the computer downstairs in the business centre, I can show you a map.

Is that everything?" She asked, looking at Arzhur and Merlin again. Merlin, who had remained silent throughout her story, was looking thoughtful.

"Merlin, is there anything you would like to ask?"

Merlin thought a moment longer, then shook his head. Sophie looked out the window, and realised just how dark it was. She checked her watch, and saw that it was six thirty.

"Oh my gosh! Arzhur, we have to get to dinner!"

"I should be going as well, there are many things I need to ponder…" Merlin said, as he changed back into an owl, and flew out the window.

"Well, I suppose we had best head down." Sophie said, as she shut the windows and pulled across the curtains.

"Do you think we should change? We've been in these clothes all day."

"Well, I don't really think you have any clothes Arzhur." Sophie pointed out. However, Arzhur went over to his bed, and pulled out a suitcase.

"Merlin has provided for me." he said.

Sophie smiled, then said "Ok, you stay in here, I'll change in the bathroom. Let me know when you're done."

Sophie picked up her bag and walked into the bathroom.

She pulled out a long black peasant skirt, a purple singlet, and a black knit cardigan, that stoped just above her hips and tied at the front.

She knocked at the door to the bedroom, and called "Arzhur, are you finished?"

"Yes, come in." he replied.

Sophie came in, and found Arzhur in dark blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt, with a red palm tree on the front, and some strange writing in blue.

"Wow, do you know what that means? It looks really cool."

"This? It's Welsh. It means forever."

"Wow, it's so beautiful…" Sophie was staring at the writing on Arzhur's shirt. He stood and waited for her to come back to reality so they could leave, but she didn't. When he tried to turn to pack his things, she followed, just staring intently at the shirt. He experimented, stepping from side to side, laughing as Sophie followed wherever he went. He stopped when she began to frown, and shook her shoulder.

"Sophie, Sophie! SOPHIE!" He said, getting progressively louder. She looked up, and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, what?" Arzhur laughed again.

"I'm so glad that _you _are the _detholedig_, and not Eleanor. You are so much more fun." He said, with a smile on his face.

"What's a.. de thingo?"

Arzhur laughed and laughed and laughed.

"_Detholedig_. It's Welsh as well. It means the chosen. If you are _detholedig _ it means I can completely trust you with the truth, because I know you won't betray me."

"But how do you know that?" Sophie replied

"Oh I don't know, it's something in the eyes. Now let's go, I am very hungry."

Sophie picked up the key and followed Arzhur out the door, locking it behind them. They had to stop every now and then, so Arzhur could inspect the things he hadn't seen when they had arrived. When they finally got down to the dining room, they found that everyone had started without them. Sophie shrugged, and led Arzhur over to the food.

"So, you take a plate, and take whatever food you want."

Arzhur was very excited, and proceeded to take something of every sort of food available. He ended up with curry, pasta, vegetables, casserole, and three different salads. Sophie couldn't help but laugh at his eagerness. They were heading over to one of the only empty tables left, when Eleanor and Gracey approached.

"Arthur, come sit with us. You needn't sit with _her_. We can show you the ropes of the group. Tell you who's who. Who's popular or not."

Arzhur looked at Sophie, who shrugged and smiled, though rather forcefully.

"No thanks, I think I should get to know my tour buddy, before I get to know anyone else. Otherwise I'll mix you all up!"

Eleanor didn't look too happy at this. In fact, she made a very pissed off noise, and spun around, flinging her hair after her. Gracey rushed after Eleanor, fixing the clip that had fallen out of her hair, glaring back at Sophie, then smiling saucily at Arzhur.

Sophie laughed softly, then sat at a both. Arzhur sat with her, sliding onto the chair, bouncing on the cushions.

"Seems you have a few admirers." Sophie said matter of factly. "Maybe you should sit with Eleanor and company."

"But if I sit with her, who will you sit with? Besides, I don't really like her. She's too sure of her self. What am I sitting in?"

Sophie laughed, and told him,

"It's called a booth. Now eat up, I want to see how you like your large variety of food."

Arzhur tried small parts of each of his foods, reacting differently to each one. Sophie couldn't help but laugh at the faces he made.

Then came dessert.

Arzhur took one scoop of every flavour ice cream, of which there were five (Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint and cookies and cream), covered them with three different toppings (caramel, chocolate and strawberry), and of course, it was topped with seven cherries, and four sorts of sprinkles. He then had a large dinner plate covered with fruit (watermelon, orange, apple, cherries(again), strawberries, mandarin and tangerines), of which he squirted the juices everywhere.

By the time he had finished (and he ate every scrap), he was looking positively ill.

"We need to get you back up to the room, you look like you may be sick."

She took his arm, helped him up and began to lead him back to the room.

"Ah, excuse me Sophie, may I have a word with Arthur, is it? I need to talk to him about these coins." Mr Johnston was following them, desperate to find out about the coins.

"umm, I'm sorry Mr Johnston, but I think Arthur is going to be sick. I really need to take him back up to the room. You can talk to him tomorrow on the bus."

Mr Johnston was obviously disappointed, but the elevator dinged, and Sophie was in with the doors shut before he could say anything else.

"My stomach" Arzhur groaned.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you eat so much. Come on, here's our floor. Just a few metres to the door."

Finally they arrived, and just in time. Arzhur was I the bathroom over the toilet, feeling too horrible to even wonder at the contraption. Sophie was pulling back his hair, and patting his back. She got him a glass of water, sat him on the floor, and gave him some tissues.

"Here, drink this, you'll feel better soon. I bet it tasted better on the way down. I hope you have a toothbrush." She said, in a soothing voice, smoothing back his hair.

Arzhur smiled a small smile at her.

"Thankyou Sophie. I'm very happy I have a friend like you."

Sophie smiled back. "Feeling better?" She asked. "There was a LOT on your plate back there."

Arzhur assured her that he was fine, and just needed some sleep.

"Okay, you stay here. I'll get your Pyjamas and stuff. Then you can have a shower, brush your teeth and go to bed." Sophie went back into the bedroom, picked up Arzhurs bag and took it in to him.

"To turn the shower on you just turn the knobs this way, ok? This is hot, and this is cold. To use the toilet, you… do your stuff, then push this button. The taps work like the shower, basically. Towels are here, and I think that's it. If you need anything call, just make sure you're dressed before you do, or at least in a towel… I don't really want to see… Yes. See you later."

Sophie walked out, heard Arzhur turn the shower on and flush the toilet a few times. She smiled at his innocence, then picked up her book. She had brought quite a few books with her, filling almost all of a large handbag. When Arzhur finally finished in the shower, she began picking up her things, only to hear him turn it back on.

"Hey! Arzhur? You almost done in there?" She yelled, banging on the door. Arzhur opened it, wearing only a towel.

"Sophie, what does this do?" he asked, holding up a razor.

"Nothing at the moment. Now get dressed, and I'll show you how to brush your teeth."

She shut the door, and left Arzhur to dress. She changed at the same time into ¾ pink pyjama pants, with coloured spots on them, and a pink t-shirt, that said '_Evil Girl Child'_

Five minutes later he opened the door again, in long green pyjama pants, and an over-sized black t-shirt, that said

'_Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."_ Beside it, there was a picture of a gun smashed to pieces.

"Amnesty International. Nice. I like Merlin's taste. Now, let's see to those teeth."

She went into the bathroom, took out her toothbrush, put toothpaste on hers, and Arzhur's, wet them, then put it up to her mouth.

"Watch me, it's really quite simple." After a few tries, Arzhur had it right. They rinsed, and put away their toothbrushes. "Here, show me those choppers." She put her hand under his chin, and looked at his teeth. "Very nice." Just as she said it, Arzhur leant down and kissed her, softly. Sophie was very surprised.

'My_ first kiss, with a man I met this afternoon. Not good. I like Arzhur, he's a good friend, but he was the King of England, hundreds of years ago.'_

She pulled back, and said "Um, yes, well. Goodnight. She turned, left the room and turned off the light.

"What's wrong Sophie?" Arzhur asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

Sophie looked at him, and sighed.

"No." she said. "It's just been a long day. I only met you this afternoon, I think I need to get to know you before… before we do that sort of stuff."

Arzhur nodded, took her hand, and kissed her cheek.

"Goodnight, my _detholedig._" he said, smiling slightly.

"Goodnight Arzhur." She said, as she threw a pillow at him. It him in the head. He grinned sheepishly, walked over to her, and held up the pillow.

"NO!" Sophie said, laughing, and crouching up into a ball. "You can't hit a girl!"

"but you are no girl, you are a"

"A _female detholedig_."

"But a _detholedig _all the same." he said, dropping the pillow on her from a height. He picked it up again, as Sophie whacked him in the stomach with her pillow. A frenzied fight ensued, but in the end Sophie was happily whacking Arzhur over the head, as he lay on the ground.

"AHAHAHA! I, the Evil Girl Child, have defeated the all mighty King Arthur! I'm Queen of the World!" She said, laughing her head off. Arzhur sat up, grabbed her round the legs, and tugged her down to lie with him. They were lying side by side laughing, catching their breathe, with their pillows dropped on their beds.

"Well _that_ was fun." Sophie said

"Uh-huh," Arzhur replied. "I've never had so much fun before. Can we do it again?"

"Not tonight. I'm too tired." She turned her head, as did he, to look at him. She couldn't help but move closer, as did Arzhur.

Once again she found herself kissing him.

'_I'm sending him too many mixed messages. Is this what I want? A relationship with Arzhur? Maybe I do, and I'm just kidding myself'_

She felt Arzhur pull away. She stood up, and pulled him up as well.

"Sophie, I'm sorry, I just…" Sophie shook her head, and smiled.

"It's fine." She looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Ok now, this time we really have to go to bed. No more Pillow fighting. Its nine o'clock, and we have a big day ahead of us! The Tower of London and the London Dungeon. Goodnight Arzhur."

"Night Sophie." He said, kissing her once again, before getting into bed.

"Don't you want to turn off the lights? It can be very fun when you do it first!" Sophie laughed as Arzhur got up again. She took his hand and put it on the switch.

"Now push!" the room went dark. It was almost as fun as the pillow fight, stumbling around in the dark, looking for their beds. Finally Sophie and Arzhur were both in their beds, clam now, and falling asleep. Arzhur was out first, breathing heavily. Sophie sat, and thought about Arzhur.

About his past, his future, about him and her…together? And, most of all, about how he could help in the war.

'_I don't know how he plans to save us. I just hope he can do it!'_

She was soon fast asleep, her dreams riddled with a certain face, and his place in the world.

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	5. Chapter 5

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Sophie woke up when her blanket was yanked off, and her pillow pulled from under her head and smushed onto her face.

"I'm up, I'm up! Geez Arzhur!" Sophie checked her watch and saw that it was seven in the morning. She looked up and saw him standing over her, fully dressed. "Someone's a morning person." She got up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She picked up her things and went into the bathroom, grumbling incomprehensibly all the way. Arzhur laughed, and began to make their beds. Sophie emerged from the bathroom in dark jeans, with a long sleeved brown shirt and brown boots. Arzhur was dressed in jeans as well, but with a yellow t-shirt, and a green jersey. He took her hand and they walked down to breakfast.

They entered the dining room, and found that they were actually on time for breakfast. Sophie led Arzhur to the food, and noticed he only took a few things. She laughed at him, and they sat at the same booth as the night before.

"Ladies, and gentlemen." Mr Johnston announced, as Sophie and Arzhur finished their breakfast. "The time is now seven twenty-five. At twenty to eight I want you all assembled out in front of the hotel. Today we are going to the Tower of London and the London Dungeons. If you aren't down in time, we will leave without you, so be prompt and ready to go o_n time!_" Mr Johnston walked out of the room, followed by some of the more enthusiastic students. Usually Sophie would be with them, but she was waiting for Arzhur to finish eating. When he was done, they stacked their plates and headed back to the room, hand in hand. Sophie started to blush when people began staring.

"Well, well, well." Eleanor said, coming up to them and blocking their way. "What have we here? An item are we?" Sophie tried to get past Eleanor, but she moved into their way again.

"Excuse us Eleanor." Arzhur said, trying to get past again. Eleanor stood in the way. Sophie rolled her eyes, and pushed past Eleanor.

"Sometimes I wish I could punch her, right in the nose." Sophie said, when they were in the elevator on the way up to their room. "She annoys me so much. She's such an...URGH!" Sophie said the last "word" I a _very _pissed of way.

Arzhur couldn't stop laughing. "Is she _really _that bad?" He asked

"Yes." Arzhur laughed again.

They reached their room, grabbed their wallets and Sophie got her phone, and went back down to the bus.

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_Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Garce, at the capital city, _

"Ve do not need insolent people ruining our plans!" Queen Jazinta shouted at her minister of defence. She threw a glass of water at him, soaking him right through, and smashing it on the ground. "If zis is ze best plan zhou can come up wid, zen zhou are fired!" she shouted, before motioning to her guards to take him away.

"Now, let us zee vat ve can do." She spread a large map of England out onto the table. "Zis is 'ampton Court Palace, vere ve bombed yesterday. Jahn, zhou take ze vorces vich zhou 'ave charge over, and attack. If zhou do not succeed in taking over zis part of Londown, zen zhou shall answer to me! GO! Next line of biziness…" Jazinta continued on, discussing various ways to attack Britain. "at zis very moment, our spies are entering ze tower of Londown, and stealing ze crown zhouwels. Zis we shall use for ransom, to make ze Queen veak. Vat do zhou zink?"

"Now, Ven ve vin Britain, oo shall ve attack next? Oo has ze larger Empire? I say ve attack Roossia, zeirs is the largest part of Europe. Oo is vis me?" the other ministers in the boardroom clapped enthusiastically.

Jazinta stood and left the room, shouting orders to her attendants the whole time. The ministers stood as she did, and followed her out, discussing their plans as they did.

_There is a pronunciation guide at the bottom, if needed…_

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On the bus to the Tower of London, Sophie and Arzhur sat together. Making sure it was ok, they began to speak in soft voices about Arzhur's past.

"So" Sophie began, "How did you _really _die?" She asked excitedly

"What a fantastic story to tell." Arzhur said sarcastically. "Before I begin, let me just say that Mordred was my nephew, not my son as may have been speculated. I was told that he stole my wife and Kingdom, and a war followed. Mordred and I were in battle, in Camlann, against each other. It came down to just the two of us. We charged toward each other, I thrust my sword into Mordred's chest, but just before he died, he fatally wounded me. Another of my nephew's, Gareth, carried me off the field and to the Lady of the Lake, where I was taken to Avalon. While there, I left the body that I was occupying at that time. At Avalon my spirit healed, and was told that in a time of great need I would return to a human body and save Britain."

"Wow." Sophie said, "How do you know that you will succeed?"

"That, my dear sweet Sophie, is a story for another day, as I think we may have arrived at the Tower."

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"Welcome to the Tower of London." The tour guide droned, in a voice that was very bored, showing he had done this many times before.

"The Tower is the oldest Palace, Prison and Fortress in Europe. The foundations were first laid in 1078, and since then the English Monarchs have been constantly improving it. The story goes, that King Edward of England had promised the throne to William, the Due of Normandy. However, he backed down on his promise and gave the throne to Harold Godwin son, his brother in law, who lived in England. William was so enraged, that he sent his army across the English Channel to conquer England. On October 14 1066, he met Harold at Hastings. The Duke won the battle and was crowned that year, on Christmas day, as King of England.

William needed a stronghold to keep the people of London in line. He chose the site on the very same site, which the Roman Emperor Claudius had built over a thousand years before. If you look out this window," The guide had, by now, led them through an assortment of rooms in the tower, and was now at a window that was on the outer edge of a very thick wall. "You can still see traces of the Roman Wall.

Many additions were added, such as smaller towers, walls, walkways and extra buildings, which gradually transformed the original building into the splendid fortress, prison, castle, and lastly museum, it is today.

The Tower wasn't always as it looks today. It began as a simple stone and timber enclosure, the structure was completed with a ditch and palisade along the north and west sides. Later on, it was enclosed by stone. In 1240, King Henry the III made the Tower his home, and whitewashed it. He then added a church, great hall, and many other buildings. Soon it was known as the Great Tower, and 'La Tour Blanche', the White tower. It was the perfect all-purpose complex. It housed a zoo, near the drawbridge where the Lion Tower was built, home for Kings and Queens, whether by choice or imprisonment, a royal mint and treasury, and the home of the Crown Jewels." The guide opened a door to another room. In the centre of that room was a hexagonal prism made of glass, surrounded by a red velvet rope. In the corners of the room were cameras filming all the comings and goings of the people in there. In the Glass case, there were many black cylinders. On each of these sat a gold ornament. On the highest one sat a gold crown, with a purple satin pillow type thing, surrounded by more gold and jewels. Standing at the top was a gold cross. Below that, on a different cylinder, sat a crown like the one above. It was smaller, with fewer jewels, its pillow thingy was fuller, and it had a gold square on top. On either side of the smaller crown, there were other ornaments. To the right, it was a gold ball. The sovereign's orb. In the centre, horizontally, there was a raised strip going around it, with various jewels on it. On the opposite side, there were four gold coronation bracelets. Between these, on yet another lower cylinder was the coronation ring.

"Wow." Arzhur whispered to Sophie. "We didn't have anything like this in my time. We had one crown, made of gold, with one emerald in the centre. Very plain. Very light. Of course, in battle, we had an even plainer one on. It was just metal painted, which we wore over our helmets." Sophie shushed him and rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the tour guide.

They were interrupted when the door burst open, and several men in balaclavas wielding guns burst in.

"Everybody freeze, and get on the floor." Their leader shouted.

Everyone obeyed, except for Sophie and Arzhur.

"Sophie get _down_!" Gules hissed.

Sophie ignored her

"You!" The leader shouted, "Get down!" Arzhur stood his ground. Sophie glanced at him, and then stood hers as well.

"What do you want?" Arzhur said, in a levelled voice. "What do you want, coming in here with those… weapons, with masks on? Who are you, giving orders like this?"

"We are here to take the Crown Jewels. And you can't stop us."

"We'll see about that." Arzhur was not happy. This was his country, his Crown Jewels (Even though they hadn't even existed when he first lived). _No one_ was taking them. He picked up one of the poles holding up the velvet rope, took off the rope, and brandished it like one of the swords he had held so long ago.

"You and me, one on one. Whoever wins gets the Crown Jewels. If I win, you leave here. If you win, you take the jewels and get out. Do we have a deal?"

Sophie was astounded that he would put it all on one fight. She knew he had to have been good at sword fighting, even if the terrorist, because she realised that that was what he really was, was inexperienced. She could see quite a few muscles under his black clothing. Although she had to admit that Arzhur was quite strong (She saw quite a bit when he came out with a razor, wearing only a towel the night before), she didn't know if he was as strong as a full-grown man.

'_no.'_ she thought._ 'I have to believe in him. We are all counting on him to save our country, even if she was the only one who really knew that._'

"Alright, I agree to your terms. But if I win, you tell the cops nothing. You hear me?"

Arzhur didn't exactly know who the cops were, but he nodded and held out his hand. The terrorist shook his, and then picked up another pole. They stepped out into the hallway, which had more room than where the Crown Jewels were. Arzhur and the terrorist stretched, with the men in black consulting with their leader. Sophie anxiously stood by Arzhur, asking him

"Are you sure you can do this? I mean, I have faith in you, but he looks _very_ strong."

Arzhur looked at Sophie, and said

"But you forget that I am the King of England. I fought in hundreds of battles and duels. I was beaten once, and that was when I was growing older. Now here I am, in the prime of my youth. I can do this Sophie, believe me, I can."

Sophie nodded, as Arzhur and the terrorist stepped forward.

"We need a judge."

One of the girls from Sophie's school, named Sam stepped forward.

"Well, Victoria and I do fencing. We know all the proper rules and etiquette and things." She looked nervous, and Victoria stepped forward, to stand beside Sam.

Arzhur nodded, and the girls stood on either side between the two.

"Ready." They said in unison, watching the two men, and each other. "Fence."

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	6. Chapter 6

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Arzhur stood with his feet slightly apart, waiting for his opponent to move. He gripped the pole tightly, watching for the slightest movement, which he got. The leader of the terrorists lunged forward. Arzhur pulled his arms apart and took the blow between his hands, holding the pole horizontally. He countered with the same movement, but pulled back and thrust the pole under the terrorists arms, hitting him in the chest.

Arzhur jumped back, circling, as the leader caught his breath. He watched the leader again, detecting signs of movement in the changing of his muscles.

Arzhur parried thrusts to the left and to the right, all done expertly, with exactly the right amount of force behind each one.

Sophie couldn't tear her eyes away from the fight. She couldn't believe how fantastic Arzhur was. She watched as each blow, however cleverly they were performed, was easily blocked by Arzhur, without, it seemed, any effort at all. The same could not be said for the leader of the terrorists. He was breathing heavily, and panted harder each time he attacked. Clearly, he didn't have the training Arzhur did. He was doing all the work, while Arzhur stayed calm and in control.

Finally, the leader was so tired, he stood panting.

Arzhur lifted his pole, and with one blow, that wasn't extremely powerful, hit the leader over the head, and knocked him out.

Sophie immediately pulled out her phone and called the police. She took a pole of her own, and stood in front of the exit.

"Don't try to leave. The police are on their way. Step away from your weapons, and put your hands up. As per the agreement, we have won."

The other terrorists put down their weapons and stood in a line with their fallen leader.

Arzhur came over to Sophie, who threw her arms around him

"You did it!" she cried happily, "I can't believe it! I mean, I had faith in you, I knew you would win, but still! You beat him!" Arzhur silenced Sophie's babblings with a kiss, then squeezed her tighter.

However, Sophie just smiled goofily, and continued her ravings,

"I mean, the Queen will have to thank you! I mean, you risked your life to save the crown jewels! Maybe she'll knight you, though you it's a little late for that, if you know what I mean…"

"Sophie!" Arzhur interrupted. "Yes, yes, yes. It's all very good and well, but I think you are taking things a bit far. As if I would be knighted for saving the Crown Jewels." Arzhur scoffed.

Sophie, however, did not agree with this. "I don't know _what_ you are talking about, I mean, Elton John got knighted for his musical talents… if he can become Sir Elton John for that, then you can _definitely_ be Sir Arzhur Pendragon. I can see it now." She out on a voice that was high pitched and sounded very prissy, "Kneel, Arzhur Pendragon. Arise, Sir Arzhur Pendragon." She returned to her normal voice. Then continued, with

"And then you can turn to the audience, and say 'I just want to thank my dear friend Sophie Franklin, for supporting me and believing in me and for being a fantastic and beautiful girl." Sophie then pretended to cry, wiping away the 'tears' from her eyes.

Arzhur, although it probably wasn't suitable for the current situation, began to laugh uproariously.

"Very nice Sophie, but I don't think I will mention _you_ at my knighting ceremony. I will save, myself for someone more worthy of my love." Sophie punched him on the arm, just as the police came in.

A tall man in uniform came over to them, flashing his badge.

"My name is Inspector Regins. I'd like to have a word with you about what happened earlier.

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After half an hour, in which Arzhur and Sophie each told their story separately, and another half hour of questioning, the terrorists were finally taken away, and the students were allowed to go back to their hotel. It was too late to make it to their tour of the London Dungeons, so Mr Johnston just let them hang at their hotel, or go into the city. So long as they weren't alone. And they were back by nine o'clock.

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Sophie and Arzhur were sitting in Spaghetti House, a restaurant in the area where all of the theatres were, which was called Theatreland, eating a Hawaiian pizza.

"This is very good." Arzhur said, around a full mouth, "What's it called again?"

"Hawaiian, but some people just call it ham and pineapple."

Arzhur smiled, and Sophie returned the favour. They finished their dinner, Arzhur paid, and walked out. It was only 7 o'clock, so they walked around Theatreland, listening to people coming out of the theatres, and hearing about the shows they had seen. Then walked down to Piccadilly Circus, hand in hand, in silence. Just thinking about the day's events.

"I hope it isn't too much more of an eventful week." Sophie said quietly. "I don't think I could handle too much more stuff like today" By this time they had reached the statue of Eros.

Sophie stood with Arzhur, hand in hand, below Eros' out stretched hand, beneath his bow. Arzhur leaned down and kissed Sophie, gently at first, but it then became more passionate and Arzhur was pulling Sophie further in, until she broke away.

"I… I don't think this is the place to be doing this." She said. She looked at her watch, and realised that it was eight fifteen, and it took half an hour to get back to the hotel. Arzhur nodded, then put his arm around Sophie, and they began to walk back.

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They finally got back, with ten minutes to spare. Sophie stepped into their room first, and let Arzhur turn the lights on (because he felt this was still a bit of a novelty), and flopped onto her bed.

"I don't know about you Arzhur, but I am so tired I could die."

"I wish you wouldn't." Arzhur replied, "Because then I wouldn't be able to do this." And with that, he pulled her up into his arms and kissed her. After a moment, Sophie and Arzhur had fallen back onto Sophie's bed. Then, soon after that…they had past first base.

It was then that Sophie felt it was time to stop.

Sure she liked doing that stuff, _especially_ with Arzhur, maybe even more than liked, but she had only known him for a couple of days. She didn't want to move too fast.

"Stop." She said, sitting up. Arzhur pulled away and sat on the bed beside, his face flushed.

"Sorry" He said, embarrassedly, "I think I got… carried away."

Sophie smiled softly.

"Don't worry," she said "I'm just too tired for this stuff." Arzhur smiled, but helped her up, picked up her stuff, gave it to her, and pushed her into the bathroom.

"Get changed, then we shall go to bed." Arzhur changed, chuckling to himself as he did so. When he was changed, he waited another ten minutes for Sophie to come out of the bathroom. When she didn't emerge, he knocked on the door, but got no answer. He pulled it open, and found Sophie, in her pyjamas sitting asleep on the floor.

He woke her up, got her to brush her teeth, brushed his, and put Sophie into bed.

"Goodnight Sophie." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Goodnight Arzhur" she yawned

He smiled, turned off the light and got into bed.

This time Sophie was the first to sleep, though he knew it was inevitable. He smiled, and drifted off himself.

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	7. Chapter 7

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"In the Tower of London today, a group of 10 terrorists attempted to steal the Crown Jewels. A group of students from Australia were present during the attack. According to the police, one of the students engaged in a fight with the leader of the terrorists, in which they used some sort of pole as make shift swords. The student defeated the terrorist, and won the right to keep the Jewels. Another student contacted the police, and the terrorists were placed under arrest. The Queen is said to be preparing a vote of thanks, in which the students will receive a special honour. This 'special honour' however, has not been released to the public. The terrorists are believed to have come from Garce, however Queen Jazinta has stayed neutral on the topic so far. Any information that can be provided is greatly appreciated, please call the number at the bottom of the screen.

I'm Kathleen Talbit, and this is BBC news."

Queen Jazinta was fuming. Her attack had failed. She threw the remote at the TV, screaming at the same time.

"How could my terrorists fail!" she cried. "Zey vere trained at zee best Military camps in zee vorld. How could zis zeventeen year old boy defeat zem?" She glanced at the paper beside her. _TERRORISTS CRUSHED BY KIDS, _it screamed.

"Stupid little _furcines_!" She muttered, hurling the paper into the fireplace. Its flames shone brighter and fiercer for a moment, then died down again.

"Ve need to vind a vay to deveat zis boy. Contan!" she barked. A tall man in a plain black suit shuffled into her office.

"Yes Your Majesty?" he said quietly

"Contan, ve need to keednap zis boy oo deveated our attackerz yezterday. Zee it to it, NOW!"

Contan hurried out of the room. Jazinta picked up another paper, one that featured a picture of Arzhur and Sophie outside the Tower of London, obviously taken after the attack, when they weren't looking.

"Ve shall get your little girlfriend too." She murmured, throwing the paper into the fire, along with the rest of them, laughing as she did so.

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"This is a computer. It enables you to have pictures and stories and all sorts of stuff on it. If you have the internet you can go online and send emails, which are like letters, but you type them up and don't actually put them in a letter box or anything, or you can look at maps."

And with that Sophie went to Google Images.

"What's a Google?" Arzhur asked

"It's a search engine, it's connected to all sorts of place, and you can find almost everything there. And here we have a map of the world." Sophie brought up a map that had Australia in the bottom right hand corner and America on the left hand side.

"This is Australia; it's where I'm from. This bit down here; this is Brisbane, where I was born and where I go to school. Over here, we have America. I'm not exactly sure, but I think this is where Washington is. But we shall get another map." She searched for a moment, then brought up another map that showed the states of the USA, each individually labelled.

Sophie spent a little longer showing him the various pictures and internet sites available, then opened her emails. Sophie rolled her eyes, as she saw 100 emails in her inbox.

"Damn Georgia and Ashley. Always replying all." And indeed, she was right. Most of the emails were blank, or had one word in them. Arzhur, however, was very fascinated, and had to read each one carefully. Pretty soon Sophie's money ran out, and the internet shut off.

"Come on, let's go get some lunch." Sophie said, leading Arzhur out of the internet café.

It was Sunday afternoon. Mr Johnston had taken them to Madame Tussauds wax museum in the morning, but most of the sites were shut Sunday afternoons, so they had another free night. So long as they were with their buddy.

After seeing a movie, The Chronicles of Narnia, in which Arzhur enjoyed making comments at the bad use of swords, and the bad battle strategies. They made a stop off at McDonalds, and Arzhur had his first Quarter Pounder and coke.

They caught the tube to Hyde Park, which was a new experience for both of them, albeit quite smoky and dirty. Sophie and Arzhur walked around for a while, hand in hand, sometimes stopping to admire the squirrels, which Sophie hadn't seen before.

"I've never really seen squirrels before, only possums and only them at night." Sophie said.

"Really? Never seen a squirrel? Wow. What's a possum?"

Sophie started to laugh.

"A possum," she began, "is a marsupial. Marsupials are native to Australia, and their young are born into the pouches they have on their stomachs. A possum…Well possums are quite like squirrels, except they don't sit up like a squirrel does, they have larger ears which are pink, the same colour as their nose, they're nocturnal, and live in trees. They are also much larger. I'll show you some pictures at the hotel computers."

Arzhur was very excited at the prospect of using the computer again, and reading Sophie's emails.

They went together over to the swings and sat side by side, Sophie facing one way, Arzhur the other. Sophie had to demonstrate to Arzhur how to use them, and after a few examples and trials, he had the 'swing' of it.

"So…" Sophie began, "Are you ready to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Arzhur asked, thinking he had an idea of the topic she tiptoeing around so gracefully.

"About…her. Guinevere. I've heard the stories, about her and… Lancelot. Is it true?"

Arzhur sighed, "I knew this day would come, when I would have to tell you…

Guinevere was the most beautiful woman I ever met. You have to understand that in my time, things were different. She came to my court when she was a little older than you are now, and I immediately fell in love with her. However, when I told Merlin I intended to wed her, he warned me against it, and said she would betray me. We were together for years, until she began a romance with Lancelot. Their union remained a secret, but when they were found out, she was ordered to be burnt at the stake. It wasn't my decision, but Merlin said that it would be for the best. I trusted him, because he was the one who had been by my side almost all of my life! But Lancelot rode up, just as the flames were ignited, and saved her. I was heart broken. That was one of the reasons why Mordred and I were in battle. Over Guinevere. I haven't heard anything of them, only that they were living on an island somewhere together, with children. I never got over my loss."

When Arzhur had finished his story, he was in tears. He had stopped swinging, and was just sitting there, water running down his face. Sophie got off her swing and took his hand,

"Arzhur, it's ok." She said, "I know its hurt. You've been through a lot of pain. But now you have a chance to live again, and have a better life."

He looked up at her. "But you don't understand. Merlin _knew_ this was going to happen. He could have forewarned me, I could have listened! Instead, I ignored him completely, and acted so stupidly. I am an idiot!"

With his last statement, he stood up and walked away from the swings.

"You aren't an idiot, Arzhur," Sophie said, following him. "You were the ruler of a great kingdom. You made England the rich and peaceful country it is today! If it weren't for you, we may have been plagued for years with invaders from other countries. Instead, you tactfully defeated, seemingly at ease! And look at what you did yesterday! You saved the Crown Jewels of England! The Queen _herself_ is going to thank you. You'll be famous. I know that you and I can save this country. You just have to believe in yourself!" Arzhur looked at Sophie, and knew that she believed in him. He knew he could save England, and now that he knew he had her help, he needed a plan.

"We need Merlin." He said. "He can help us find a way to stop the attacks. He may even be able to get us into Garce, and to see Queen Jazinta."

Sophei didn't actually know if Merlin was actually able to achieve this, but she knew she had to let Arzhur know that she did have faith in him.

"Oh my god! It's almost 8:30! We won't back in time if we catch the tube, and it's too far to walk! We'll have to catch a cab!" She ran out onto the street and flagged one down, checking to make sure she had money. They sped along towards their hotel, Arzhur caught up in the excitement of riding in a car, instead of a bus.

"So many new experiences for me today!" He said, making Sophie laugh. After 26 minutes of weaving in and out of traffic, Sophie paid 10 pounds and they ran into the hotel, at 8:53. Sophie and Arzhur collapsed on to the sofas in the lobby, laughing and out of breathe.

"That was fun." Arzhur said

"Not as fun as a pillow fight!" Sophie said, throwing a pillow at him.

"Pillow fight eh?" They heard a voice say suggestively from behind them. "Well girls, what have these two been up to?" Eleanor and her minions laughed wickedly.

"Maybe a bit more than Mr Johnston wanted." Gracey said.

"Hopefully no one will tell him." Lacey said

"Just imagine what would happen if someone walked in on them during an intimate moment!" Sally said.

"Oh come off it you guys. It's not as if they're doing it." Gules said. Sophie couldn't help but stare at her.

'_Wow. Gules said something nice. Maybe she'll be my friend again. People change in Europe, I suppose, hopefully it's just a phase.' _Sophie knew it was probably a long shot, and wouldn't really happen, but she could dream.

"Maybe we should tell Mr Johnston about the cute little couple." Eleanor said, laughing. "Oh, and don't worry _Giulie_, you don't have to be in on it."

They walked off. Gules stayed behind for a moment, looking from Arzhur to Eleanor, until Sophie turned away defiantly. Gules called to Eleanor and ran after her.

"I knew she wouldn't come back." Sophie said, crossing her arms and walking to the elevator.

"Sophie!" Arzhur chased after her. "Sophie, what's the matter?"

"Gules, or Giulie, as she is now known, has been my best friend since we were 7, and now she's gone over to the dark side. To the girls we always laughed at, who dyed their hair white blonde, and wore tight tight shirts and miniskirts." By now, Sophie had started crying. Arzhur pulled her over to him and he put his arms around her. He rested his chin on her head softly, and said

"Shh, it's ok Sophie. I know how you feel. But you've still got me."

"Like that's anything to be proud of." She said into his shirt sarcastically.

Arzhur laughed. "See? You're already feeling better."

Sophie looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "I suppose." She said. Arzhur leaned down and kissed her, just as the elevator door pinged on the level 3, where Mr Johnston's room was…

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	8. Chapter 8

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"Sophie! Arzhur!" someone hissed, "Mr Johnston is just around the corner! Look out!"

Sophie pulled away, and looked at the girl who had spoken.

"Jennifer! Thankyou!" Jennifer Highsdale was in Sophie's maths class. They didn't really talk much, but they had come to a bit of an understanding with each other. They smiled at each other, and Jennifer stepped into the elevator. The doors shut, just as Mr Johnston walked up, but he was too late, and missed it.

"What were doing?" Sophie asked.

"I was getting my Iron tablets. You need to be more careful. Hi Arzhur! I'm Jennifer Highsdale; I don't think we've been introduced." Jennifer spoke a mile a minute. Though normally coming off as a shy girl, when she became comfortable with her surroundings, she would open up completely. She held out her hand, and Arzhur took it, as he said

"Hi. I'm Arzhur." Sophie and Jennifer laughed.

"Yes I think we established that. So Sophie, are you excited about the British Museum tomorrow?" Jennifer asked

"YES! I can't wait! And, since it doesn't open until ten, we get to sleep in til at _least _nine!"

Arzhur laughed. "You'd do that anyway. If you had the chance, all you would do is sleep and read and eat." Jennifer and Arzhur laughed again. Sophie punched Arzhur in the arm playfully. The elevator dinged again, and Sophie said

"Well, this is our stop! Cya Jen."

"Cya Sophie. Sit near me on the bus tomorrow, we can catch up and stuff!" she said, with a wink and a glance in Arzhur's direction. Sophie laughed again, as Arzhur looked between the two of them, _quite_ confused. The doors shut, and Jennifer was taken to another part of the building.

"Well wasn't that a lovely chat." Arzhur said, as he and Sophie walked to their room. "What did she mean by 'stuff'?" he asked, as they reached their room and he opened the door. Arzhur had gotten the hang of key cards by now, but still thought of it as a novelty.

"I'm so glad we can sleep in, I am so tired, I could…" Arzhur couldn't understand the rest of what Sophie said, because she was yawning, "…and then one time I ate some rotten berries. Man there were some strong gases eeking outta my butt that day." Sophie snorted in laughter, then couldn't contain it anymore as she burst out, laughing louder than she had ever thought possible.

Arzhur was just looking at her with a dazed expression on his face.

"What do you mean my butt?" He said, not having heard this slang before.

This just made Sophie laugh even harder. When she had FINALLY calmed down, after a few minutes, Arzhur said gravely

"No I'm serious, what's a butt?"

Sophie looked at him with her mouth and eyes wide open. She blinked, opened and closed her mouth a few times, and said

"Oh, well… Oh my goodness! Would you look at the time! Why, it's almost 9:30! We'd best be getting to bed!"

"SOPHIE!" Arzhur said angrily, "What's a butt?"

This was said just as there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" Sophie called, punching Arzhur in the arm again. "I'll tell you when you're older" she whispered jokingly. She pulled open the door and came face to face with Gules.

"Oh." She said, the smile she had just worn melting from her face. "It's Gules. Hi Gules."

"Hi Sophie, Arzhur. Listen, I…I need to talk to you."

Sophie stepped away from the door, and Gules came in.

"It's just, Sophie, I really miss you. I know… I know I haven't been the best friend recently."

Sophie rolled her eyes, and mumbled, "You can say that again."

Gules looked down, and then continued

"It's just, when you were going off the other day, I just wasn't feeling myself. And then when Eleanor started talking to me, I just…needed to blow off some steam…and then you disappeared, and then Megan was taken off. And Eleanor just started being so nice, I couldn't help myself! Oh, but I was wrong to go off with her Sophie, I know that now. We've been best friends since we were little."

"Correction Gules." Sophie replied, "We were best friends when we were little. Maybe you going off with Eleanor was for the best. I think…I think it's time we went our separate ways as friends. I mean, we're just too different. I like History and Drama, you like sports and Parties, and Adam Brody and Orlando Bloom. I _hate_ Orlando Bloom and Adam Brody, just as you hate King Arthur, and Caesar. Maybe you should go see if Eleanor will have you in her posse."

Gules looked at Sophie, dumbfounded.

"If… If that's how you want things to be… then, I guess I'll be going." Gules walked to the door, then looked back at Sophie, "Are you sure this is the way things?" she said.

Sophie nodded, and shut the door.

"Sophie?" Arzhur called, "Are… Are you ok?"

She shook her head, and he pulled her into a hug.

"Shh" he whispered. "It's going to be ok Sophie. I don't know what will happen, but it will be ok in the end."

Sophie rubbed her head against his shirt, taking in his scent.

"Now would you PLEASE tell me!"

"What?" Sophie said

"What is a butt? I'm dying to know!"

Sophie laughed. "Well my, my! It's rather hard to explain Arzhur…"

"Can we google it!" he said, extremely excited by the prospect of using a computer again.

"Ok, ok!" Sophie said, laughing into his shirt again. She hadn't pulled her head out, and had it clenched in her hands. Sophie showed no signs of letting go. "And while we're at it we can check my email, and set up an account for you. We'll go down after breakfast tomorrow morning, have an early start!"

"Well that means we need to get to bed, so we can be up in time. You can have the bathroom tonight. I'll be in here changing."

Just as Sophie and Arzhur were collecting their stuff, someone knocked, rather loudly, at the door.

"Just a minute." Sophie called. She pulled open the door, expecting one of the other students, but found a man standing there in a black suit.

"My name is Randal Orton. I'm with the Government, representing Her Majesty the Queen. We would just like a few words with you two please, regarding the events at the Tower of London earlier this week." He spoke very sternly, and was so tall Sophie had to look up at him. Arzhur came over and joined her at the door. Randal Orton was even slightly taller than Arzhur was.

"I'm sorry sir." Arzhur said politely, his hand on the door. "But it's late, and we have an early start tomorrow, and we've been up late and up early all of this week. If possible, could you come back maybe later this week?"

"But that is unacceptable! It is most important that discuss this now." Randal was desperate to have a word with Arzhur and Sophie.

"I must apologize, but we can't. Goodnight sir." Sophie said, shutting the door and locking it.

Sophie sat on her bed and patted the space beside her. Arzhur stood and stared at her, not knowing what to do. Sophie sighed, stood up, took his hand and pulled him down next to her.

"So" He said. Sophie rested her head on his shoulder. Arzhur slung his arm around her.

"What do you think he wanted to talk about?" She said.

"I don't know something important he said."

"I highly doubt that it was as important as he said. It never really is. It was probably something like… 'We need to bring you in for your own protection, as we think terrorists may try to harm/kidnap you. Also, could you give us your parent's phone numbers address and names so we can do a background check, tap your phone lines, read your mail and find out every little secret you have.'"

Sophie laughed. When she realized Arzhur wasn't laughing, she looked at him. Their eyes locked. Arzhur leaned down and kissed her. Sophie was surprised by his sudden actions, but deepened the kiss, to go with the flow. They fell back against the bed. Their hands roamed. Arzhur trailed kisses down Sophie's jaw line, going down her neck. He pulled the strap of her singlet down past her shoulder, and continued kissing her. Sophie pulled him back up to her and kissed him again. Sophie reached down to the bottom of his shirt, and tugged. Arzhur raised his arms and Sophie pulled it off, throwing it into the corner of the room. She ran her hands over his chest, feeling the muscles that had been built up in his past life, which had joined him in his new body. Arzhur slipped his hands into her shirt, and then pulled it up as well. His hands searched her back, running them across her smooth skin.

It was when he began to fumble with her bra that Sophie stopped him.

"Arzhur!" She gasped

He sat up suddenly

"Sophie I'm… I'm sorry! I… I just didn't realise…" He said, in a very distressed voice.

"No, no it's… its ok. If I wanted us to stop sooner, I probably should have said so." She stood up, retrieved Arzhurs shirt and handed it to him, and picked up hers and put it on. "I think it's time we got ready for bed. It's almost 10 o'clock."

Arzhur nodded, picked up his things and went into the bathroom.

Sophie sat on her bed and ran her hands through her hair.

"What am I going to do?"

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	9. Chapter 9

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Sophie woke when she felt the sunlight beaming onto her face. She sat up and checked her watch.

She groaned and flopped back onto the pillows. _'It's only 7 am. I'll just sleep a bit longer.'_

It was then that she became aware of the other thing that had woken her up. Someone was banging on the door.

"I'm up, I'm up." She muttered, stumbling to the door. She opened it, and came face to face with Mr Orton again.

"Excuse me miss, I am sorry to wake you, bit it is most vital that we evacuate you and your… roommate from this hotel _immediately_." He said urgently, his foot against the door, preventing Sophie from shutting it.

"Um… Can I ask why?"

"We have reason to believe that Queen Jazinta of Garce will attempt to harm you two. You will be moved to a safer place, where you will have guards protecting you from any possible attacks."

"Oh." Sophie said. "But why would she want to hurt us?"

"On Saturday the first of July, your roommate fought, and defeated, a terrorist from Garce, am I right?" Sophie nodded in agreement. "The terrorists were sent by Jazinta herself, and she is unhappy that they were defeated. We in the government feel that she may take things too far, act a little rashly."

Sophie had been listening to what Mr Orton was saying, and was all for believing him, when she realised Mr Johnston probably wouldn't allow that.

"I think it's a good idea, Arzhur and I would be happy to go with you, but you see, we are here on a school tour. You'll have to ask Mr Johnston before we can leave."

"Not necessary, we have already spoken with him."

"Oh. Then I suppose we'll just pack and get dressed, then be on our way?"

Mr Orton nodded. Sophie walked back into their room and shut the door. Mr Orton stayed in the hallway, awaiting their return. Arzhur was already awake, and, having heard the conversation, had begun to pack his things.

"I'm almost finished." He said, "I'll go into the bathroom and change, while you pack your things."

Sophie packed her things, then changed. Arzhur came out of the bathroom, fully dressed, and put the last of his things into his bag. He put his arm around Sophie, and said

"Well, we're embarking on another adventure." Sophie rolled her eyes at his calling it an adventure. "Do you think they have the internet where we're going?"

Sophie laughed, and nodded. She pulled open the door, and they stepped out. She locked the door, and looked around for Mr Orton. He was nowhere to be found.

"He must have gone ahead to hold the Elevator or something. Let's check there."

Sophie walked off, and Arzhur, dazed for a moment, still looking for Mr Orton, rushed after her. When they hadn't found him in any of the hallways, Sophie and Arzhur decided to check in the lobby. Arzhur pressed the button on to call the elevator.

When it reached their floor a short man in a black suit stepped.

"My name is Mr Tate. Mr Orton has been called away urgently. If you will follow me, I will take you to a secure area." The short man said.

Sophie glanced at Arzhur. He raised his eyebrows, but followed him into the elevator. Sophie stepped in and dropped her bags, which were quite heavy, because of the amount of books she had brought. She was quite disappointed in herself, as she had aimed to complete them all before leaving. But because of all of the excitement of Arzhur and the terrorists and things like that, she hadn't had a chance to do much reading.

'_I suppose that's what I'll be doing in this 'secure' place. I wonder if Arzhur likes to read.'_

Sophie was still pondering these things, when the elevator stopped. They were in the lobby, which was relatively empty. Mr Tate ushered them through the kitchens, out the back door, to a waiting car. It was black, and seemed rather unnoticeable to Sophie. That was until she noticed the flags on the front. She raised her eyebrows. Usually those flags were used only for members of the Royal Family, or their representatives… yet there they were, on the car they would be travelling in. she shrugged and handed her main bag and her bag of books to the driver, keeping her shoulder bag with her. She got into the limousine and looked around. The black interior looked extremely clean. It smelled of new car and leather. She scooted along the seat, making room for Arzhur. Mr Tate sat across from them, travelling backwards. The windows were tinted, so the passengers couldn't be seen, and the passengers couldn't see out.

The engine started and the car rolled away from the hotel. Sophie rested her head against the window as Mr Tate started fiddling with the radio, and finally settled on "Angels", by Robbie Williams. He was one of her favourite artists, and she couldn't help but half mouth the words along with the music. Sadly, all good things must end, and next the radio 'DJ' put on the Veronicas. Arzhur was enjoying the music, bopping his head and tapping his feet and fingers, slightly out of time with the music. Sophie couldn't help but smile, especially when the song ended and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" came on.

"How are they doing that?" Arzhur asked

Sophie explained to him the instruments used, which Arzhur was very interested in.

"Sophie," he asked. "Can I learn the guitar?"

Sophie thought, and then said

"Maybe, once we get home. We'll see if we can get you some lessons somewhere… maybe if get you into school they'll do it…" Sophie trailed off, when she realized that Mr Tate was listening intently.

"What do mean you if he gets into school?" he asked.

"Well…" Sophie paused briefly; "Arzhur and I are from Australia, right?" he nodded. "Well, Arzhur has been home schooled all his life, and he got into this trip because his uncle is on the board of my school. His parents haven't enrolled him yet."

Mr Tate seemed to believe this. Sophie was proud of her lie, though she hoped Mr Tate wouldn't do any research and find out that Arzhur didn't exist in this world until a few days ago. Arzhur was still listening to the music, which, by now, had changed to "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson.

Their car finally stopped, after an hour of driving. When more men in green uniforms opened the door, Sophie and Arzhur got out, to find that they were on a tarmac, that looked as if it was in the middle of nowhere. The logo on the back of the small plane was the Garcian Flag, and the Coat of arms of the current ruler, Queen Jazinta…

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	10. Chapter 10

_As of now, I've decided not to reply to the reviews in each chapter, shall just do it personally via email. But probably only if you ask a question/deserve it…_

_Lol_

_It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's Chapter 10!_

_ps... I chnaged the ending of this one, because I thought the other one was too much, too soon! I'll save it for later!_

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Sophie looked from Mr Tate to the men in Green uniforms bearing the Garcian royal family crest, who stood placed around the tarmac.

"It seems, Miss Franklin, Mr Pendragon, that you are in a bit of a pickle." Mr Tate said, "You see, I answer directly to the Duke Erik Aren Bodil, the Queen's spymaster. You are now about to be on your way to Ganduma, in Garce, to meet Her Majesty. She has been eagerly awaiting the boy who defeated her best agent, who excelled at all types of fighting. Because of you two, her representatives at the UN and in other countries are now under suspicion. Now hurry along, onto the plane. Elsewise my master, and his mistress, may find that these soldiers they issued for my use, may have, accidentally, of course, put a few holes in you."

Sophie and Arzhur were shocked. After a moment of opening and closing their mouths, Sophie stumbled, and managed to turn herself around. She took her bags and Arzhurs from the guard, handed his bag to Arzhur and began to walk towards the plane. Arzhur looked at his bag, the guards and then Mr Tate, and then followed Sophie onto the Garcian plane.

It was very spacious. There were two groups of four seats, two facing each other, either side of the aisle, with a table between each seat. The chairs were very wide and well cushioned, with thick armrests covered in buttons, to call the attendants, to turn on lights etc. The seats were the colours of the Garcian Royal family, Gold with green embroidery and edgings. The carpet was green, with a darker green pattern of feathers on it. The walls were gold, with a green frame around the windows, and a green tint on the windows. The curtains over the windows, the entrance to the toilets, the cockpit and the attendants' area were dark green.

Seated and strapped in, Sophie was still in a state of shock.

'_I cannot believe this has happened.' _She though. _'How could I be lulled into such a state of security, that when a complete stranger shows up, saying he's from the government, I'll follow him, wherever! And then, when another complete stranger turns up, saying he's _also_ from the government, and that the first complete stranger is "called away urgently on business", I'm just there thinking "ho hum… there's nothing wrong with this scene… I wonder what Arzhur's wearing under his…"STOP THERE SOPHIE!'_

She blushed, and glanced at Arzhur to make sure he hadn't heard her thoughts. He was sitting in his chair, playing with the buttons; pressing the call button repeatedly and switching the lights on and off.

Sophie sighed and stood up. She walked over to the seat next Arzhur and sat down, buckling her seatbelt.

"You'd better stop that." She said, her voice strained. Sophie was tired, and she didn't think another flight would help that. "We'll be taking off soon, and the attendants probably won't appreciate it."

Arzhur stopped and looked at Sophie's seatbelt.

"Should I tie myself in as well?" he said.

She didn't know what he meant, when she saw what he was looking at. She laughed softly, and showed him how to do it up. When he finally had it right and done up tightly, the attendants were bolting the door, and prepping the captain.

Sophie was expecting the usual lecture on seatbelts and exits, but none came. The engines began, and their plane headed down the runway, gaining speed quickly.

Arzhur had never flown before, let alone gone as fast as the plane was taking them. As they were pushed back into their chairs and the front wheels began to lift up, he grabbed Sophie's hand, squeezing tighter and tighter. Sophie looked over and saw that he had gone _very_ white.

"Arzhur." She whispered, leaning over towards him, "Are you ok?"

"Why are we going so _fast_! It's _too _fast, we'll fly up and go all over the place!" His words were strained, as if he were forcing himself to say them.

"Don't worry Arzhur. It's an _aero_plane. It flies. It has wings, and engines. We won't crash. I came to England on one of these, they're perfectly safe." Sophie squeezed his hand reassuringly. He seemed to relax, and then squeezed back, relieving the pressure on her hand. After twenty minutes they had levelled out, and Arzhur let go. Sophie pulled her hand away, flexing her fingers to bring the circulation back into her hand.

"Sorry" Arzhur said.

Sophie looked at him and started to laugh. Arzhur, who seemed to have recovered from their ascent, though he still looked a little white, began to laugh as well. After a few moments their laughter had died down enough for Sophie to notice her hunger.

"What's the time?" she said, looking at her watch. It was almost twelve o'clock, they'd been travelling, from the hotel to the airport onto the plane etc., for over an hour and a half, and Sophie was _starving_. By the sudden rumbling of Arzhurs stomach, she knew he was.

"Ok." Sophie said. "You can press the call button now, I suppose…"She smiled at him, when he eagerly reached for the button.

However, before he could push it, one of the attendants, a dark haired man, came up wheeling a trolley. He placed a tray with some plastic containers on it, in front of them, and asked,

"Anything to drink?"

"We'll have Lemonade please." Sophie said

He placed a plastic cup in front of each of tem, took two blue cans from the trolley and placed them next to the cups. He then wheeled the trolley back through the green curtain.

"What's this?" Arzhur asked, pointing to his can. Sophie opened hers and poured it into the cup.

"Drink up, it's good." She said taking a sip, before pulling back the cover on one of the containers. Inside she found two steaming croissants. One of the other containers held various little tubs of jams and spreads. Another held salmon, another ham, and the last cheese. Sophie sat and tried to make a decision of what to put on her croissants. In the end, she ripped one of hers in half and put nutella on one half, and ham and cheese on the other.

Biting into the savoury half, she looked at Arzhur, who was watching her with a very puzzled expression on his face.

"What do I put on this?" He asked.

"Well" Sophie began "You can have it with nutella or ham and cheese, like me. Or Jam. Or Salmon. Or you could just have it plain. Here, try some of this." She pulled off a piece of her savoury half and handed it to him, then did the same with the nutella half. He ate the ham and cheese half first, then the nutella.

"This is good." He said, with his mouth full. He remembered his court manners, and swallowed before continuing. "What's nutella?"

"It's supposed to be a 'hazelnut spread'" she said, doing inverted commas with her fingers, "But, if anything, it's just chocolate." She continued to eat her breakfast, putting jam on her other croissant. Sophie looked up at Arzhur and realized she had forgotten to tell him our crumbly croissants were, which resulted in him having the front of his shirt quite covered in little bits of croissants.

"Saving a snack for later?" She asked, pointing to the crumbs.

"Wha… Oh." Sophie started to giggle. He stood up and began to brush off his shirt. Sophie rolled her eyes and stood up to help as well. With their combined effort, they managed to rid him of the crumbs that plagued his clothing. Arzhur put his arms around Sophie's waist. She responded by putting her arms around his neck.

"What do you think Jazinta will do to us?" Sophie asked, resting her head on his chest. She could feel, not to mention hear, his heart beating, and found that it was, actually, really calming. She couldn't help closing her eyes, and tightening her grip on his neck.

"I don't know." He said, resting his chin on her head. It did make it a little difficult to talk, but he was just thrilled to be close to Sophie again.

"Well, what would you do, being so experienced in the ways of a ruler."

Arzhur thought for a moment, and then said,

"Truthfully?" he said. He felt Sophie nod. "Well, I would have had us both killed… or I would question the prisoners first to find out everything they knew. But yes, then I would kill them."

Sophie looked up at him, gaping. "You would seriously have put two innocent people to death?"

"Well…that was how things were done those days. Of course, times have changed so I highly doubt we'll be killed…"

Sophie had tuned out, she didn't listen to what he was saying. She pulled away from Arzhur, and turned around, putting her back to him. The seed of doubt had been planted. She couldn't help but thinking of all the ways Jazinta could have them killed.

_Poison, or starvation, or gun squads, or lynching, or we could be eaten by ravenous wolves or dogs…or CATS! Or she could have our throats slit, or pushed off a bridge, or pushed off a cliff , or be sent to sleep with the fishes, like in all of those mafia movies. Or Guillotined, or worse, our heads could be chopped off by an axeman. Meh, then I could be cool and be like Anne Boleyn…but I'd be dead… or we could be hanged. Or she could push us in front of a stampede of Wildebeests, like Mufasa. _

"Sophie!" Arzhur said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking. "Sophie, snap out of it!" She looked at him. "I promise, Sophie. I promise I will never let her hurt you. So long as I have life in me, you will _not_ be harmed."

Sophie looked up at him, straight into his eyes, and saw that he told the truth. She knew, right then, that he would protect her until the end of the world, and, she realized, she would do the same for him.

"I… I'd do the same for you. I never want you to leave me."

"Good. I'll try not to." And he leaned down, and kissed her.

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_Very stereotypical ending, and very fluffy. I felt I owed you guys some. _

_Keep up the reading! I love you all! Not really… maybe platonically… maybe only a bit_

_OK, not really_

_Cheers madears!_

_Sono Ottimista_


	11. Chapter 11

_I am soooo sorry I haven't updated! I don't know what it is… but I think I need to be in the buzz of things at school…and we've just gone back, and inspiration has struck! HUZZAH!_

_ARGH! Year 10 is scary…_

_Sorry_

_Enjoy! _

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"Ahem hem." A voice said. Sophie pulled herself from Arzhur's arms and found the attendant standing behind him. In front of him was a large silver trolley, with a flat top and a few drawers on the front.

"Oh… sorry" Sophie said, blushing. She sat back in her seat. Arzhur followed suit, sitting opposite her. Sophie leaned down and picked up her 'book bag' from where a guard had placed it under their table. She pulled out her current book, 'Eldest', by Christopher Paolini. She began to read, but stopped halfway down the page when she felt eyes on her.

Sophie looked up, ad her eyes met Arzhur's.

"What are you reading?" he asked

"Eldest" she said, holding up the book so he could see the cover. "It's about dragons and elves and dwarfs. It's _really_ good."

"Oh." He said, "Well… enjoy" He leaned back in his seat, and began drumming his fingers against the table. Sophie looked back down at her book, but found she couldn't concentrate. Arzhur's drumming was getting louder and fiercer, and very distracting.

"Look." She said, sighing. Arzhur stopped his drumming and looked back at her. "Would you like something to read?"

"Yes please." He said sheepishly, sitting forward eagerly, ready for a distraction. Sophie rummaged through her bag, pulling out a book, contemplating it, then replacing it. It took her a moment to find something suitable, when she pulled out another book. She stopped, looking at it, and then handed it over.

"Alanna: the first adventure. Song of the Lioness. By Tamora Pierce. She is, basically, my favourite author." Sophie said. If Arzhur liked his book, she'd give him the rest of them to read, and finally have someone to talk to about them!

With Arzhur settled, she began to read again. After a half hour of steady reading, her eyes were getting sore, and the attendant had come with more drinks. Sophie took a break, and looking over, she noticed that Arzhur was already over two-thirds through the book.

"Enjoying it?" she asked.

"Oh yes!" he said. "It's almost all true! The training methods for knights, the weaponry, even the way they worship their gods!"

Sophie sat for a moment, thinking about something that had been on her mind for a quite a while.

"Arzhur." She said. "You and Merlin told me that your Gods would bring you back when England was in a time of great need. Now, if I'm right, and we don't stop Jazinta, there may be a world war in the making… if she can get the supporters. But why weren't you brought back during the first and second world wars? Or one of the other wars between England and their surrounding countries?"

Arzhur opened his mouth, and then closed it, pausing to think.

"The Gods haven't been as attentive as they should have been. Time is different in their world. When they did look during a time of war, it was usually too late to help because there wasn't enough warning, or the war had already passed, or was winding down. They can't direct our fates, or direct our paths unless we worship them fully. After the last world war, which they missed almost completely, the gods vowed to be more attentive and send help, namely me. They looked in the morning I joined your tour, and left me in London. I'd been wandering for a few minutes before I was almost hit by a certain bus. And that is the story of how I got into this world. Now if you will _please_ excuse me, I must be getting back to my book. Alanna and company are calling!" With this said he picked up his book and began reading again. Sophie smiled, and patted herself on the back.' _Another successful Tamora Pierce enthusiast created. I can't wait for him to finish them,"_ she thought, leaning back and beginning to read again.

But she couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts strayed, and again she began to wonder why Jazinta wanted them. _Would_ she kill them? Or would she use them as ransom for as much territory as possible? Sophie kept reading, but she soon realised that she was re-reading the same paragraph repeatedly. Shaking her head, she blinked a few times, trying to make her eyes work properly, and started the page again.

When she had finally immersed herself in the forest of Ellesméra, the attendant came up to them and announced that they would be landing soon, and to buckle their seatbelts. Arzhur moved to sit next to Sophie again, so that they both would be facing forwards, and going down backwards. She sighed, happier now that she knew some of her questions might be answered soon.

After a shaky touchdown, during which Arzhur squeezed her arm so tight that his nails left marks, the two teens stood and stretched their sleeping legs. Gathering their bags, they rejoined Mr Tate, who now held the door open to a state car. It was black and rather plain, except for the two little Garcian flags fluttering on either side of the engine. The flags were yellow, a green 'x' from corner to corner, with a few green splotches in the centre at the top. They looked familiar, and it dawned on Sophie that they were in the shape of the Garcian Islands.

"Welcome to Garce" Mr Tate said, practically pushing them into the car.

They ended up sitting in the same seats as the drive to the airport in London, Sophie and Arzhur sitting opposite Mr Tate. The drive began silently. After ten minutes, Sophie looked at her watch and saw that they had been on the plane for four hours.

"Um…" she began. " What's the time?"

Mr Tate checked hi pocket watch, and said, "It's eleven am Garcian time. I would suggest you set your watches, as I believe you will be here for quite a time."

After setting her watch, Sophie leaned back and looked out the window. Arzhur, after glaring at Mr Tate for a short while, followed suit, looking out the opposite side.

After an hour of driving through Ganduma, their car left the capitol city and continued along a solitary road, through the hilly countryside. Climbing higher up, out of her window Sophie caught glances of the ocean. Turning her head, she could see out the other window, looking down onto the Island.

Higher up, she caught glimpses of pale yellow, almost cream, Sandstone higher up the mountains. After a few more minutes, it came into full view.

The Garcian Royal Palace was a magnificent sight to see. On one of the higher mountains, overlooking the seaside capitol city, it was made of creamy yellow sandstone, and stood three stories high. It was longer than two King George Squares, laid beside each other, and about as wide. There weren't any gardens around the Palace, but in front of it, there was a stone courtyard, with a fountain spurting water. In the fountain, there was a statue of a man atop a rearing horse, holding a tall flagpole, topped with a Garcian flag.

"That," Mr Tate said. "Is Daved Garce."

Sophie couldn't tear her eyes of the statue. '_So this is Daved Garce. The man who made his own country.'_

After another ten minutes of driving, they pulled up in front of the Palace.

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"Your majesty" A messenger came running in, and breathlessly breathed into Queen Jazinta's ear. "The two Children from England arrived at the airport just over an hour ago. They will be here in about a half hour."

Jazintaflapped her hand lazily. The messenger bowed and left, his job done.

Jazinta sat on an ornate green throne in the centre of the room. A pair of green double doors was the entrance, decorated with yellow detailing. A long green carpet made a path from the doors to the steps at the front of the dais, on which Jazinta sat. The yellow walls had a few paintings in yellow frames, of people wearing the Garcian Royal colours, wearing crowns.

"Steward." The Queen called. "Prepare ze arranged rooms for our gueztz, and give zem vat zey need, wizin the pre-zet boundariesz. Tell the Cookz to get a move on, lunch iz to be served at half pazt vun zis afternoon, in ze Dining Hall." The steward, after quickly scribbling down the details, bowed, then walked out of the room, never turning his back on the queen, as followed proper etiquette.

"Mikkel" She said. A blonde haired man stepped into the centre of the room. "zhou know zhour duty, vat zhou shall do ven the 'gueztz' arrive. Go, and be ready to greet zem."

The man nodded, and said "Yes, Your Majesty." And turned, and left the throne room.

Jazinta then announced, "Ladiez and Gentlemen, I zink it is time ve adjourned. Lunch zill be served atvun zirty, as pre-arranged, in ze dining room. I expect to zee zhou all to greet our vizitors." The Queen stood and left, the people in the room curtseying or bowing as she passed. Once she was out of the room, they followed suit, heading to their quarters to change into attire suitable for a formal lunch.

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When Sophie and Arzhur stepped out of the car, they were greeted by a tall, blonde haired man, who looked to be only a little older then them, and an elder man, both dressed formally in business suits. They were both wearing yellow sashes with green badges bearing the Garcian flag.

When Mr Tate saw these men, he bowed and saluted them.

"At ease, Tate." The elder man said. "Your duties are now over, you are dismissed."

Mr Tate bowed again, and then got back into the car.

"So he's just leaving us in your hands? Sheesh…" The elder man cut off Sophie.

"I am Colonel Bodil Harald Pedar, and I have been placed in charge of you two. Miss, if you would follow my protégé here, he will escort you to your rooms and explain what you will be doing here. At half past one, in ten minutes, you will be expected at lunch with Her Majesty, Queen Jazinta. You sir, shall follow me."

Before they could say anything, Colonel Pedar turned and strode off. Arzhur, after glancing at Sophie, who shrugged, followed him into the Palace. Sophie turned and looked expectedly at the blonde man.

"The Colonel didn't introduce me. My name is Mikkel Kolinkar Svend." He looked around quickly, there was no one else around now that the Colonel had left. "I don't have a proper position, though I'll just tell you that I am _very_ powerful in the Garcian Government and court. I will show the ropes, I suppose, of our Palace, and try to make your stay as comfortable as allowed."

"What do you mean, allowed?" Sophie asked

"Well you see." He began, "you didn't actually know you were coming to Garce, correct?" Sophie nodded, and Mikkel continued. "The Queen has brought you here for specific reasons, though I cannot tell you exactly what they are. She has made sure that we know the rules, which she has lad down specifically for you two. Truthfully, she doesn't want you to leave for quite a time. Now, I don't know about you," he said, smirking, when Sophie's stomach began to growl, "But I'm hungry, so let's hurry and get lunch as soon as possible."

Sophie, after thinking for a moment, watching Mikkel, nodded. He turned, and she followed him to her room in the Palace.

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After banging on the door for an hour, when he finally regained consciousness, Mr Orton was let out of the broom closet by one of the cleaners.

"Where are Arzhur and Sophie?" He shouted, looking around frantically. Mr Johnson, who had come up to check for the last stragglers so they could leave for the museum, came over and said

"Why, they left earlier with a man from the government… Tate I think he said his name was. Quite a nice man, though he had a bit of odd accent, and he wouldn't show me his ID."

"Tate?" Mr Orton said. "Oh dear lord no! Tate is one of the Garcian Queen's top agents. I think, by now, the two of them will be in Garce! We have to save them!"

"What? Why are they in Garce? What will I tell Sophie's parents! I don't even know _where_ Arzhur came from; let alone how to contact his guardians! Richard Johnson you idiot! You'll be fired for sure!" He ran off, completely forgetting about the other students, muttering about plans to flee during the night and move to the Ukraine to avoid the questions from Government personnel and parents alike.

Mr Orton shook his head, then whipped out his phone, starting action, ready to help the Australians who he was sure were in trouble in a foreign country…

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Sophie looked around her room, taking it all in, holding her breathe in case it wasn't real.

"Wow…" she breathed.

Her room was just like one that would be found in a pala… oh wait. She _was_ in a Palace. It was magnificent. A mahogany four-poster bed, with green hangings, complete with yellow tassels, around the posts and the top of the bed. The quilt on the bed was white with thin green stripes at intervals, but was folded down at the top to show a green silk under layer. Three large windows were on the far side of the room, overlooking the fountain and courtyards, overed in Green and yellow tasselled curtains. Mikkel strode over and began to open the curtains. Sophie followed suit, letting sunlight in to show more of the room. There was a mahogany desk opposite the bed, with green leather on the top, with a yellow trim. Facing the windows, on the right side of the door, was a mahogany wardrobe. Sophie peeked inside, expecting to find it open, but instead was greeted by the sight of many colourful dresses, fit for any type of evening.

"What the…?" She said.

"For state functions, things of the like. I felt that you should be properly outfitted for your stay, so you didn't feel upstaged by the glamour, if you could call it that, of the Garcian court. There is also a bit of Jewellery in the top left desk drawer. It's almost time for lunch. Change your clothes, freshen up a bit. I'll be back soon to take you to the dining room." Mikkel left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Sophie stepped up to the wardrobe and opened it again. "Now…Which of you to choose for my first appearance in the Garcian Court."

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_Well… 10 pages… the bed will soon be on my blog (the addy is on my homepage thingy), the desk is my desk… I dunno bout the wardrobe... tis just plain… _

_I have to decide on a style of clothing for the Garcian court… any suggestions are welcome…BAH! Australia day is a big con… ignore me… bad mood… stupid parents and their stoooooopid parties…_


End file.
